Our Vision: How CoCoDA is moving forward for 2011 and beyond

CoCoDA has an ambitious vision for its next decade. Our past is our strength, and it points the way forward on three key priorities:

1. Expand our delegation program

CoCoDA’s history—and at its heart—is fostering connections between communities in the United States and El Salvador. Our goal: to triple the number of delegations we take to El Salvador each year.

CoCoDA is taking three delegations to El Salvador this winter and is developing plans for several other delegations this summer. To do so, we've hired a delegations coordinator for the first time and will be producing a suite of educational and support materials that draw on our long experience linking communities in the US with communities in El Salvador.

2. Increase support for education

Education is the foundation for progress in any country. Our goal: to build a robust scholarship program for students in the Salvadoran communities we serve.

As with our other priorities, CoCoDA has extensive experience to draw upon. Past projects have built schools and developed programs from elementary to high school; more recently, CoCoDA has funded scholarships for college students--but we want to link our past programs with our new connections and supports to do more.

3. Influence the international approach to water

Over the past five years, CoCoDA has developed an effective, comprehensive approach to community-based water projects. Our goal: to make this method a model for El Salvador and to extend its reach across the country.

CoCoDA has just commenced its most ambitious water project yet--a solar powered installation serving two communities near Suchitoto. In the coming months, we will be telling you more about how this approach is a model for El Salvador—and what we are doing to promote the CoCoDA method to international organizations.

Focusing on our own community

Along with this renewed vision comes a fresh look—and our pledge to do more to keep the CoCoDA network of friends and supporters informed. As CoCoDA has focused on its work in the past few years, we have not done our best to keep in touch with you—but we pledge to do better and to do more. We will reach out to you as we move forward, but we encourage you to return to this website often, to visit our news blog for regular updates, and follow us on Facebook.

We also invite you to contact us at any time to ask questions, offer suggestions, and learn how you can get involved.